Wednesday, December 31, 2014

In Pilot Point, I use a New Year’s Eve as the occasion when Clayton
Hays finally asks out his neighbor,
Leslie Johns.And I introduce the
dances held at St. Thomas (Aquinas) Catholic Church.

I attended a dance or two
there when I lived near Pilot Point.Like Clayton, I was slightly awkward.And like him, I noticed most there were older then me.(I was about 30 at the time.)There was lots of silver hair.But most of the older people sure
danced better than I could.

My experience inspired me
to use the parish dances in my novel, and not just as a setting for Clayton and
Leslie’s relationship.One
theme of Pilot Point is the
interaction between youth, time, and old age.And the relation is not always what one may expect.The young may be old in some ways and vice versa.As I saw for myself, the silver haired can retain a lot of
youth.Clayton Hays, on the other
hand, lost his youth too quickly.

The changing of the year
prompts reflection upon one’s past and future.And so it is with Clayton.

But enough background.Enjoy the excerpt.And have a Happy New Year.

-----

Two days after
Christmas, Clayton noticed Leslie’s car was back in her driveway. So at dusk,
he walked over to her house.

“Hi Clay,” she
cheerfully answered the door. “Come on in.”

“I saw you were
back, so I thought I’d come over and say hello.”

“Good. Glad to see
ya.” She shut the door against the cold. “How was your Christmas working
cattle?”

“It was okay. It
would have been a lot worse if Bowie’s truck heater didn’t work real well.”

“Oh yeah. Wasn’t it
cold Christmas Day? I was thinking about you out in the weather working
cattle.”

“It was pretty
brisk.”

“I imagine.”

“How was your
Christmas?”

“Oh, the usual. You
know, relatives you’re so glad to see just once a year.”

Clayton smiled.
Leslie told some more about Christmas with her family. And they just talked for
a while.

Then Leslie asked,
“Now that Christmas is past, what are you doing for New Year’s?”

“Not much.”

“Why am I not
surprised by that?” After a pause, she said, “I think the Catholics are having
a dance New Year’s Eve over at St. Thomas’s. They do every year. I’ve always
been Baptist or Anglican, but I have to hand it to them, they’re not against
having a good time. I imagine that will be a nice dance. And I don’t think it’s
going to be formal or anything like the city people’s parties.”

Clayton nodded. Then
it suddenly occurred to him that Leslie was hinting. He stalled for time. “I
guess I’d make a lousy Catholic.”

Leslie laughed.
Clayton kept thinking. He figured he ought to be more sociable even if it was
against his nature. And he figured he ought to treat Leslie right and that she
did need to go out, especially on New Year’s Eve. And he figured Bowie had a
point. [While feeding cattle on Christmas Day, Bowie gave Clayton a hard time
about not yet asking out Leslie. – Ed.]

So he said, “I can’t
dance worth anything, certainly not like Catholics. But if you like, I would
like to take you to the dance.”

Leslie smirked. “I
would like that.”

Clayton paid
Leslie’s and his way in at the door of the St. Thomas Community Center. They
walked tentatively into the dimly lit hall and took seats at the back of the
room.

They tried to make
small talk there. But after a while, they were just awkwardly quiet.

Clayton looked
around. He noticed there was hardly anyone in the room under forty. Heads of
gray and white hair were scattered among the tables and across the dance floor,
throughout the room. “We’re practically the youngest folks here,” he remarked.

“Yeah. Kind of nice,
isn’t it?”

“Yeah. It’s
different.”

After a long while,
he finally asked, “Do you want to dance?”

“I thought you’d
never ask.”

Clayton was stiff
and awkward as they danced. He was trying hard not to step on her feet—and that
was about all he was doing right.

But before long,
during a quiet song, they found themselves quiet, watching the other, older
folks dance.

“They dance so well,
don’t they?” Leslie said.

“Yes. They do.”

They kept watching
them slowly, gracefully glide across the floor. There was peace in their steps
and quiet joy in their faces.

Later, when the band
lit into a lively tune, Leslie said, “Let’s get back out there.”

“Okay.”

Once Clayton, under
Leslie’s guidance, had gotten the step and rhythm of the dance down, he watched
the others around them. Although they had heads of gray, their dancing was
spry. He watched a white-haired couple smiling at each other and not missing a
step. Another mature couple was even showing off a bit. He smiled and looked at
Leslie, who was also enjoying the young/old couples. Being among them dancing
with Leslie made him almost feel like a kid. For a dance, they were all young.

When the band
finished the song, the leader announced, “Twenty minutes until the New Year!”
The crowd clapped.

The band then played
a mellower tune, and Leslie and Clayton stayed out to dance that one.

The announcement of
the impending year put him in a reflective mood as they led each other around
the floor. The time caught him by surprise. He did not know the New Year was
that close. He thought about how time is that way—it steadily marches, and,
before one knows it, it is gone.

He reflected how
time had passed him by—how he lost his childhood early, how the now hazy years
that followed passed so quickly. He hardly ever was a teenager. Then there was
college and two shining years [SPOILER OMITTED]. And the years in Alaska, too,
had already become a dark haze.

Now, he was slowly
dancing with Leslie. Time had brought them to this dance.

In spite of himself,
he was now in good cadence with Leslie and with the other couples. He watched
them as they floated around him, their warm hearts undiminished by their heads
of gray. He could see the glow of love in their faces. They had left the
struggles of long life off this floor.

He found himself
feeling that Leslie and he were one of them, slowly gliding among the couples
with time floating by them all. As he watched the glowing faces and the
graceful steps from the older pairs young for this night, he found himself with
them, and with Leslie, in a slow dance of time.

He felt he belonged
in this dance. Yet he knew they must all soon leave the floor.

Before he knew it
came, “Ten… nine… eight… seven… six… five… four… three… two… one!” And there
was the noise of a passing year and the heartfelt singing of Auld Lang Syne.

As he stood beside
Leslie, he saw all the couples kiss each other and look at each other with
sentimental eyes. He turned his eyes toward Leslie. She was looking at him. She
turned her eyes down, blushing a little. He felt awkward. But he leaned over as
Leslie looked back up and gave her a gentle kiss. They smiled at each other, a
little shyly.

The first dance of
the New Year began, and they stayed out on the dance floor and joined in.

It seemed strange to
Clayton that a year had ended, and now it was another year. He gazed out at the
other couples. He saw faces of joy and contentment. They seemed at peace with
the passage of years.

But he could not
comprehend that peace. So many of his years were lost. So many were too much
like the ones before.

Yet, as he and
Leslie danced close to each other, among the young/old couples, he had a
feeling he could not fathom that, in spite of himself and his past, this year
was going to be different.

-----

By the way, I notice they
are still dancing Catholics at St. Thomas.They are holding a New Year’s Eve dance this very evening.

Monday, December 29, 2014

Dr. Jane Shaw, the new
Stanford Dean of Religious Life has gotten a bit of attention lately for saying
the following.

I don’t think church is to be more churchy. I think
church is about, anyone should be welcome. I’m really interested in how you
welcome many different kind of constituencies, certainly not convert them, not
even necessarily to do religion all the time.

I’ve even heard Rush
Limbaugh refer to this and give her a bit of a hard time.

Now it will not surprise
that Dr. Shaw (as I’ve always addressed her) is not my flavor of Anglican.And I should give the disclaimer I have
not seen her in action for some years.But I was a frequent worshipper at the Chapel of New College Oxford back
in Michaelmas Term 2007 when she was the Chaplain.So I can speak to how she applied her philosophy of church
there.

And I have to say that,
unlike many who like to use the word, she was genuinely inclusive.She made me feel very welcome and was
even enthusiastic on occasion in so doing. (And that even though I kidded her about a global warming
sermon she gave at Christ Church on the coldest, most miserable Sunday of
term.)

She stuck to the traditional
liturgy and did not play any games with it that I noticed.Even the sermons there were good.In her recent comments, she mentioned
use of art.And, if I recall
correctly, one of the guest sermons that term looked at a painting, a Rembrandt I think,
and drew a touching Christian message out of it.It was excellent.

In sum, she conducted
services in a way that made even this hard-core liturgically nit-picking
orthodox Anglican feel included and edified.She certainly helped me to learn and worship that dark cold autumn.

Now I understand how some
could read her comments and envision her turning a college chapel into a circus
that would horrify and drive away the orthodox.But my experience at Oxford in 2007, at least, indicates
that is neither her style nor intent.

And, as much as we differ
on any number of matters, I am still grateful for her conducting the Chapel of
New College in manner that greatly included and blessed me.

No, I am not going to
condemn Heather Cook for her alleged hit-and-run, at least not the run
part.When one is involved in a
very bad accident, it can be very traumatic and disorienting and lead to
immediate unwise decisions.And
she reportedly did return to the scene of the accident within 20 minutes. So I will withhold judgment, at least
for now.

But I do denounce The
Episcopal “Church” and its Diocese of Maryland for making her a “bishop” in the
first place.Why?

In September 2010, nearly four years to the day
before she'd become Maryland's first female Episcopal bishop, Cook was pulled
over in Caroline County.

Police at the time said she blew a BAC of .27, or
over three times the legal limit, when given a breathalyzer.

In her car, police said they found a bottle of
whiskey, a bottle of wine, and a marijuana pipe reported MyEasternShoreMD.com.

And four years after that,
she is made a bishop?Really?

The Episcopal “Church,”
with its enabling, shares blame for the tragic death of Tom Palermo.

Saturday, December 27, 2014

With tomorrow Sunday being
the Feast of Holy Innocents, I think it meet to point back to what I think is
one of the better posts of this blog’s ten years, “Holy Innocents and the Dark
Side of Christmas,” posted in 2007.

I think those annoyed by
the artificial, mandatory happy, happy,
HAPPY-ness forced on us at Christmas will particularly appreciate it.Enjoy.

Friday, December 26, 2014

There is a particular parallel between the martyrdom
of Stephen and the martyrdom of now thousands of Christians in the Middle East
today that we must not ignore. After the stoning of St. Stephen, the
church was for the most part forced to flee from Jerusalem. (Acts 8:1)
Today, the church is being pressured by Muslims (There. I said it.) to flee
from much of the Middle East. The population of Christians in several
Middle East countries is shrinking precipitously. It is distressing, and
it is hard to see what can be done about it.

And I am at a loss even what to say, except to pray
and to remember that the holy Army of Martyrs will grow yet larger and will
triumph in the end.

This St. Stephen’s day
particularly, let us continue to pray for those displaced, suffering and dying
for the name of Jesus.

I have never been a
Christmas Eve shopper although I might become one this year for an extra gift
or two.In part because of events
with my novel Pilot Point, finding the
time and energy for Christmas preparation has been a push this year.

So this post is not to
condemn Christmas Eve shoppers (who may be enduring self-condemnation already) but to help.

Now, at the risk of
repeating myself, remember Christmas is a season that begins on Christmas Day
and lasts twelve days.There is no
shame is giving Christmas gifts after Christmas Day.

But I know most would
rather not use that Anglican excuse and go that route.So may I once again suggest
e-books?They are very easy and
often inexpensive to give, certainly in the case of Kindle books.There is no wrapping, and delivery is
immediate.Yes, you can buy a gift
today, and it gets delivered today.And no one need know of your procrastination.

It does not have to be the Kindle version of Pilot Pointthat you give.Many, perhaps most, books that come out
nowadays are available in Kindle.But if you do choose to give Pilot
Point, which I think a good gift for Anglicans and Texans especially, you
certainly have my festive thanks. :)

Christmas Eve shopper or
not, I hope you enjoy this Christmas Eve and Christmas season as much as I
intend to do.And, as always,
thanks for your support.

Monday, December 22, 2014

Long time readers know
Christmas is important to me – and I can get downright insufferable about
it.In keeping with that, I
thought this 10th Anniversary year of this blog would be a good time
to look back at past Christmasy posts.

My first Christmas as an
Anglican and the first one of this blog was bittersweet.On Christmas Eve and the day itself, I
missed out on having an Anglican churchy Christmas, and I was disappointed
about that.

My 2007 studies in Oxford
brought about a tutorial paper that is one of the best things I’ve written, if I
may say so myself.It ties
together the Black Death with our celebration of Christmas today, if you can
imagine that.

And, of course, I’ve
fretted over when I should allow Advent to become Christmasy.

Yes, it’s been good to be
an Anglican at Christmas.

But I cannot let this
Christmas pass without mentioning a past Christmas far more memorable than any
of mine.This Christmas Eve will
be the 100th anniversary of the Christmas Truce near the beginning
of World War I.I recommend this BBC documentary.

Friday, December 19, 2014

Yes,
some may be so behind on preparing for Christmas that they may find my
admonition not to panic not helpful.But I do indeed want to be helpful and will do so with two suggestions
concerning a task that should be a joy but often becomes a burden - gift
giving:

1.
Remember that Christmas Day, glorious as it is, is the first day of
Christmas.Christmas is not only a
day; it is a season of twelve days.And, as in the song The Twelve
Days of Christmas, it is perfectly fine to give Christmas gifts that arrive
after Christmas Day (although trying to give the particular gifts mentioned in
said song will not make anyone’s
Christmas easier).So do not be in
a mad rush.Gifts that come in the
midst of the Christmas season are often a greater surprise and even more (and
certainly more leisurely) appreciated than gifts opened on the 25th.

Yes,
there are a few who hold up their nose at gifts that arrive after Christmas
Day.They consider them
“late”.As one who used to have
that attitude, such are in need of prayer for repentance.

2.
There are numerous ways to make gift giving quicker and simpler.I will suggest one here.

If
you have friends or family who like e-books, it is very easy to give the gift
of a Kindle book.I’ve done it
myself.At the Amazon Kindle page
for a book, click “Give as a Gift” on the right. Then once you’ve signed in, you can select “E-mail the gift
directly to my recipient” and fill in their e-mail address (the method I’ve
used) or you can have the Kindle book e-mailed to yourself, and you can pass it
on yourself.(Note that you can
write a personal message when having Amazon e-mail the gift to someone.)

Finish
the order, take care of the payment, and it’s done! No messing with gift
wrap.No worries about snail mail
delivery.And Kindle books usually
cost less than print books, sometimes a lot less as is the case with my novel.

Speaking
of which, I of course do hope you use this tip to give my novel Pilot Point, which is only $2.99 in Kindle form.But if you have other
books in mind to give, as the owner of too many books, I understand and am glad
to help.

May
you have a blessed last week of Advent and a happy Christmas free from
unnecessary stress and fretting.

Like
many of you I’m sure, I am behind on getting ready for Christmas and other
matters.So I may imitate a
favorite blog, Instapundit, and have short posts with links instead of my usual
erudite commentary.

I
do have some treats in mind for you nonetheless, particularly with Christmas
upon us and with the 10th Anniversary of this blog coming to an
end.

By
the way, if you need some assistance with gifts, don’t forget my novel Pilot Point.Thanks.

Wednesday, December 17, 2014

I’ve
mentioned here the possibility that I will take my novel Pilot Point to the Fredericksburg Gun Show this weekend.Well, the show is so full that it is
unlikely I can get a vendor’s table.And, with the grace of my presence desired closer to home, I have
decided to cancel.

But
I do have a big book signing lined up for Christmas Eve Eve, on this Tuesday
the 23rd at Half Price Books, Corpus Christi, from 4 to 7pm.

Yes,
it is not a gun show.Sorry.

For
those unable to make the trip, remember it is now only one week until Christmas
Eve.And remember that I do not have a tip jar.To assist with both situations, Pilot Point is available in both Kindle and paperback.You’re welcome. :)

May
this last week of Advent be a great blessing to you.(This Advent has been a blessing to me, and I hope to find
the time and energy to share some of that.)

The
three month delay in her release is hard to excuse.But part of the delay was her defense team’s wise and
successful effort to get Judge Jose Longoria recused.He presided over the 2007 trial and has demonstrated he
cannot be trusted to be a fair judge of this case.

One
result of said recusal is the success of yesterday’s bond hearing.Bond was set at a reasonable $50,000
with no onerous conditions.So,
finally, Hannah Overton is home with her family after seven long years.

Nueces
County DA Mark Skurka has said he intends to retry Overton for capital murder. But a development during the bond
hearing would make much a foolish task even more difficult:

Arguably the most dramatic
moment of the hearing came when Hannah’s attorneys revealed that one of the
state’s star witnesses at trial, Dr. Alexandre Rotta—who had treated Andrew on
the night he was brought to the hospital in 2006 in a coma—had recently
contacted Hannah’s defense team. Dr. Rotta told Hannah’s attorneys in an email
that seven years after Hannah’s trial, her conviction still kept him up at
night. This complicates matters for Nueces County District Attorney Mark
Skurka, who has vowed to retry Hannah on capital murder charges. The fact that
key prosecution witnesses such as Dr. Rotta— along
with Dr. Edgar Cortes , another physician who examined Andrew on the night
he was admitted to the hospital—now question Hannah’s conviction casts doubt on
whether Skurka can win his case . . . .

Skurka
would be wiser to clean up his office.Yet another indication of the
corruption of the Nueces County DA’s office has come out.Eric Hillman is suing said office.The former prosecutor claims he was
fired for following the law:

Eric Hillman prosecuted
drunk driving cases, but, when he uncovered a witness who had the potential to
help someone he was prosecuting, he claims his bosses told him not to share
that information with the other side. He did and the lawsuit he filed Monday
claims it cost him his job.

"It is unlawful to
fire or terminate an employee because they refuse to commit a criminal act and
that's exactly what happened here," said Hillman's attorney, Amie Pratt
with the Gale Law Group.

Prosecutors
are required by law to share any evidence that may help the defense.This legal requirement was also alleged
to have been violated in the 2007 Hannah Overton trial.

Was
that violation inadvertent and isolated?I think not.And I am not alone.

[Hillman’s] attorneys say this
case could point to bigger problems in the pursuit of justice in Nueces County.

"Nueces County seems
to be in favor of withholding evidence from defense counsel which is a huge
problem," Pratt said.

Monday, December 15, 2014

I’ve
mentioned that Christmas and other holidays can be difficult times for those
dealing with aloneness, difficult family situations, and past traumas.Mother’s Day used to be my bad holiday.
(And do read my post last week if you are among those not looking forward to
Christmas for similar reasons.)

One
of the plots of my novel Pilot Point
is how Clayton Hays and his friend Bowie Smith deal with their aloneness – and
they do not deal with it very well.One Christmas opens a window to this.

The
following excerpt from that Christmastime is short and simple.We see their reluctance to accept an
invitation to a family Christmas; it reminds both of the families they do not
have.Bowie instead has arranged
to work cattle on Christmas Day.

We
also see Bowie adding logs to a dying fire.That does not seem a significant moment at first.But his words as he does so end up
echoing through the novel – and through Clayton’s struggle.

---

Kim,
Bowie, and Clayton were playing poker over at Bowie’s. He had a fire going, but
it was dying from neglect—the three were so intent on their cards.

The
armadillo on the rafter had a red elf cap on, and there was a picture up of
Santa wearing a cowboy hat with his sleigh being pulled by longhorns. Those
were the only Christmas decorations Bowie had up.

After
a hand, Kim asked Bowie, “What are you going to be doing Christmas?”

“Nothin’
much.” He shuffled the cards.

“The
wife says you’re welcome to stop by for Christmas dinner. So come on over.”

“I
appreciate that, but I don’t know if I’m going to have time. I’m going to give
the Hunt land workers Christmas by taking over for them. Most of them have
families to go to, and I don’t. So I figured I’d stand in for them so they can
have the day off. Seven-card stud.”

“That’s
awful nice of you. I didn’t know you were doing that for us. I appreciate it.
The offer still stands though.”

“I
thank you.”

“How
about you, Clayton?”

He
shrugged his shoulders and kept looking at his cards. “I don’t have any plans.”

“Well,
come over for dinner at my place then.”

“Thanks,
but I’d feel out of place. Christmas is a time for family and…” his voice
faded.

“Keep
it in mind anyway. Janet’s cooking and hospitality can make anyone feel like
family.”

“Okay.”

When
they finished the hand, Bowie looked over at the fire. “Hell, there’s only one
log left burning and barely at that. We’re so busy with cards, we weren’t
paying attention.” He got up and walked over to the logs he had piled to the
side of the fireplace. He leaned over. But before he picked one up, he looked
back at Clayton with an expression both wry and yet as serious as a long
winter.

Friday, December 12, 2014

First,
apologies for not writing a more normal post this morning.Trust me that I had a post or two in
mind with all the craziness going on in the world.But today I am a bit swamped.I am happy to report that, unlike the world, my craziness is
a good craziness.Nonetheless,
busy is busy (as work is constantly interrupting me as I try to type this!).

One
reason I am busy is later today I go set up my table for the Aransas Pass Gun
Show tomorrow.Yep, the Pilot Point Gun Show Tour resumes
tomorrow Saturday at the Aransas Pass (Texas) Civic Center from 9 to 5.

But
I know most of you are not within driving distance to meet me and buy my novel
tomorrow.And, with less than two weeks until Christmas, some may be a bit
busy taking care of their naughty and nice lists.If so, may I make a suggestion? ;)

Yes,
my novel Pilot Point is an
appropriate gift for both the naughty and nice.Or at least I think so. Click the "Pilot Point" link below to find out more. Better yet, go to and "like" my Pilot Point Facebook page.

May
God bless the remainder of your Advent season and preparation for Christmas.